Life Goes On

This week was busy.  James had a XC meet and practices.  He PR'ed by over 2 minutes at his meet on Friday!  He is getting better and stronger - he's doing amazing!!  He also had an orthodontist appointment and they are going to start on spacers to make some more room in his mouth.  So he has a sore mouth now and it will get more sore next week...  :(

Evelyn has been busy with school and water polo.  She had a game out in Hood River on Tuesday - a bit of a long drive, but it was a fun game and a nice drive.  After I took my car full of girls to DQ before heading home.  The game was rough, but the girls did great.  

Wednesday was a Team fundrasier at Chipotle - Evie and I went and got some food for dinner and ate with a bunch of the kids from the team.  It was fun hanging out and supporting the team!  

David decided that he wanted to dye his hair green.  We couldn't find any green hair dye at the store, so I ordered some online.  We finally dyed it Saturday - it sometimes looks more teal than green depending on the light, but it's fun and he's happy.  :)  

Saturday, Dan and James went to run a 5k that a local neighborhood puts on every week.  They both did great - but James is officially faster than Dan now.  I told him that it's about time one of our kids got faster than him - Anna, Aaron and Evelyn are all faster swimmers than I am!  

Sunday was great!  We had church and choir and family and friends and games and food.  And now bed!!!  

When September Ends

This week has been busy.  Monday we had a team dinner at a park with pizza and salad and lots of fun games.  It was great and the kids had a blast together.  I went, but ended up in a video chat with my parents and sister for the whole thing.  They wanted to nail down what the rest of the year is going to look like as far as Pam's house and trips and holidays.  Apparently I should have taken notes too because by Saturday, everything was in confusion again....   

Our week was full of the usual work and school and sports.  Evelyn and I had games on Thursday and Friday.  We won both of them.  After the Thursday game, I headed to Masters which was a ton of fun.  

Friday night, Evelyn had the Homecoming football game.  James went to the game with friends.  Evie had to be there for the half time show since she was on the Homecoming Court.  Dan and I got to escort her along with Natalie during halftime.  

This weekend has been crazy busy!  First of all, it's General Conference Weekend!  So Saturday morning we got up and had a lazy morning on the couch watching conference.  Then I took David to his water polo tournament.  It wasn't really a tournament - really they just took all the kids that came and put them together on teams to play against eachother.  David had a great time, and his friend Sawyer was there too - they both did a great job.  David is really starting to look like a water polo player.  Sawyer got his first goal and made a some great assists and and it was a really fun event!  

Evelyn had her Homecoming dance with Truman and her friends.  They had a great time together and were just getting home when I got home from Open Polo 

Evie struggled a bit to find a dress she liked, but eventually went with this one - and raided my jewelery box for accessories.  As always she was beautiful!  

Sunday was a nice relaxed day of conference and food and games and fun.  Dan trounced us all at Puerto Rico by using David's strategy, but we all had fun! 

What's the Day Again??

With the tournament last weekend and then the kids having Monday off of school, my brain has had a hard time remembering what day of the week it is!  

Monday, the kids were off school, so I took the chance to take Evelyn out to get different sizes on her birthday presents.  We ended up going to 4 different Targets to find a 00 in the pants because size 0 isn't small enough....  But we had a fun time together and chatted with Anna on the phone for most of it and just had a fun morning together!  Then she needed to come home to work on a school project and I took Eileen out to do the grocery shopping.  We got done in time for me to quickly head to water polo practice, which was followed by a team dinner.  This group of girls is truly amazing and such an awesome group of girls!!  

Tuesday was back to the regular routines.  James is still doing great in Cross Country and sometimes even has fun going on runs with Dan.  (and enjoying the fact that he is getting faster than his dad) and doing well in his meets and practices!  Evelyn is doing well in water polo and the season is flying by.  Work is normal for me - mostly quiet, but I work with great people and the patrons are super nice.  

Tuesday morning, Dan flew out to Colorado for a company activity.  He ran into Joseph Blanchard in DIA having just gotten off the same flight, so they had lunch together before heading their separate work trips.  He got to have lunch with Tina and go to a Rockies game, then came home Thursday.  Aaron was super helpful with driving him to and from the airport and also super helpful with cooking and clean up while he was out of town.  

I got to play with Masters at Parkrose on Tuesday night - we had a fun turn out - with enough people for 6 on 6, plus Aaron came, which was fun!  And then again at Sunset on Thursday - we had a great big turn out of women - new women, which was a lot of fun - and they were all super nice!  

Friday was a rather crazy busy day.  Evelyn and Truman went to the temple in the morning - they often do since there is no Seminary on Fridays.  And Truman asked her to Homecoming with the cutest sign.  

James had a dentist appointment - it went well, nice and quick and easy.  David had his Cougar Fun Run - weather was supposed to be rainy, thankfully it wasn't raining during his run.  He did great - got an all time best, and a free little jamba smoothie.  It was fun cheering for him and his friends!

The water polo team had games on Thursday and Friday.  They did a great job.  Thurdsay was against Tigard at Tigard - and I got the younger players some good time in the game and made them really work on offensive plays instead of just fast breaks.  

The Friday game was just JV and Boys Varsity since the S Salem team didn't have a varsity girls team.  But I went to watch and support and help with Sunset pool - my friend Alex was lead at the pool, but had never been in charge during a water polo game.  Mostly I just spent the games explaining to him what was going on and convincing him to come try it out with Masters.  :)  

Saturday, James had a cross country meet out in Seaside.  So he went on the bus and had a good time and did really well.  But it was a long day for him!  I had an early morning shift - shadowing for the opening shift at the pool.  Almost done with my Head Guard training.  Then, Dan and Evelyn and I went down to Woodburn.  An excuse to walk around the outlets and get James a duffel bag for his running stuff.  And no, we didn't buy more shoes....  :)  Then Dan and I went to the temple and out to a late lunch at Chick-fil-a.  Then in the evening, I went with Aaron to Open Polo.  Chris had convinced some of the Sunset boys to come play - plus the Newberg kids were there - so it felt a bit like THills vs Sunset.  But it was a good group - lots of strong players and lots of fun!  

Church today was wonderful - the choir sang and did a great job!  Dan spoke and both his and Robyn's talks were amaizng!  They talked about being anxiously engaged in a good cause, and how that good cause can be serving others, or it can be caring for yourself.  It was a really great perspective.  A good reminder that anytime we are caring for God's children (including ourselves), we are doing His work. 

Our afternoon has been quiet and included some naps and talking to Grandma and Grandpa Jones and playing some games.   Plus some yummy food and snacks and treats!  

And more tournament, and more running

James is still running and doing great - he had a team dinner this week and a meet that he ran in this weekend.  He did great and got a PR again!  He's really enjoying Cross Country and also enjoying being able to outrun his dad....  Poor Dan - he's finally got a kid who can beat him - I've had water polo players and swimmers beating me for awhile!  

David stayed home from school on Monday - he wasn't feeling good and even with the promise of no screen time, he still wanted to stay home and rest.  Monday was also my birthday - filled with swimming and water polo and family and cake and nachoes!  

Evelyn's 17th birthday was a bit more chaotic.  We had a water polo game that night - and with everything, we didn't have everyone home for dinner and birthday stuff until almost 8pm.   David ended up not going to bed until 9.  She got some clothes and her favorite dinner and cake and a fun little heated stuffy.  She's an amazing kid!!!  

Aaron is still on the job hunt - and keeping busy helping around the house and helping with driving people.  Eileen is still writing and drawing and crocheting.  Dan is working and running and keeping busy with helping get everyone everywhere.  He's so amazing picking up a lot of the slack during this crazy busy time of the year.  On top of all that, we've all been a bit sick this week.  Enough that I didn't swim more than a couple days and he's been pretty congested.  Eileen, Evelyn and James have all been a touch sick too, but I think we are finally on the mend!  

We also had a tournament this weekend - we only had 8 girls able to make it, but we had a great weekend out in hood river enjoying sun and a semi-outdoor pool and playing polo.  The girls did an amazing job!  It was awesome to see them grow as players and come together!  We also got some great comments from other parents about how awesome our kids are!  We only won one of our games, but with half our team, I was less worried about them winning and more worried about them getting some experience and having a good time together.  Evelyn and I carpooled Aurelia down with us - she is just such a sweet girl and we had a fun ride down chatting and singing.  I'm so proud of these girls!!  All the car ride time also meant I got to get to have a super sweet conversation with Evelyn about how awesome we each think the other is.  :)  She also said she is happier with each passing week that she chose to do water polo instead of marching band!  

Anna is doing great - she has now moved to a new area - she's no longer on Prince Edward Island.  She is always in our prayers and thoughts and she has been so fun to talk to and such a great example to us all!  

Tournaments and Such

We've had a busy week.  James had races on Wednesday and Saturday - he was running a 5k and managed to PR again!  He's still struggling with some leg and foot pain, but he is working hard and doing well.  

Evelyn had a water polo tournament this weekend.  The girls did an amazing job.  They won all their games and what's more, they were amazing teammates and showed great sportsmanship!  I'm so proud of how hard these girls have worked and the amazing people they are becoming!!  

Anna is doing well on her mission!  It is so fun to talk to her and read her emails.  She is growing and being an amazing example!  

Aaron is still looking for a job and enjoying life as an adult who can sleep in and not go to early morning seminary.  :)  

Dan is doing well with work.  He is an amazing problem solver and is enjoying new challenges and having amazing appreciative co-workers.  

David is doing well.  He is enjoying school and riding his bike and hanging with friends.  He is especially enjoying water polo - it's neat to watch him - he's really starting to look like a water polo player in how he handles the ball and how he understands tactics.  He also loves having his friends at practice with him!  

Sunday was wonderful.  Church was awesome - I played piano for Meghan and Valery's musical number - they did amazing and I didn't mess up too much!  The talks were great - Meghan is going to be a great missionary!  Primary was also awesome - we practiced God's love and talked a bit about how we feel God's love in our lives.  

After, we had ward choir - we had a new choir member join us and she was wonderful to have - she's moving to the area, and hopefully to the ward!  Until then, she was happy to sing with us! 

After, I had a virtual Messiah Commitee Meeting - that I was on while cooking dinner.  We had friends over for dinner, then I had to leave to go to the mandatory parent's meeting for Encore.  Then I rushed home because Sandi was coming over with her boyfriend Matthew for treats and games.  We had yummy cupcakes and Sandi got me some bath salts and some beautiful measuring spoons!  Then we played Quacks.  I won, but only by 1 point!  

School Sports and such

We've had a busy week.  School is going well.  David has been enjoying riding his bike to school each day.  And after 4 years of being mad at me walking to pick him up from school, he is now mad that I am not walking to pick him up from school since I can't walk and get to water polo on time.  He's enjoying being a big 4th grader.  He got his little buddy this week and thinks they are so cute.  :)  I've also been letting him ride ahead on his bike as long as the crossing guard is there to get him across the big street.  

James is keeping busy with school and cross country.  We are still trying to get him out of Spanish and the school is making it much harder than it needs to be....  He is doing well in cross country.  He had a meet this Saturday in Gresham.  He dropped almost 3 minutes on his last time and came in 7th place in the first year category.  He did great and got a medal and was feeling good about his run!  

Evelyn has been doing great in water polo.  We had a inter-squad scrimmage on Tuesday to get us ready for games.  Everyone did well - there was a lot of great stuff going on.  I talked with Blake after (since I had asked him to come ref) and he said that they were looking great.  He pointed to Evelyn and said "she's going to be your dark horse."   He didn't even realize that she is my daughter - but she's been doing really well and looking really solid!  It's been great to watch the girls grow and learn.  It's also been great to watch them support each other and help each other!  

Aaron is still looking for jobs and going to the singles ward.  He's been giving Calan a ride and then they often come back here and play Magic: the Gathering for a bit.  It's been good for both of them! 

I've been busy coaching and playing water polo.  Masters this week has been fun with new people and old friends coming.  I also got to spend most of the week swimming outside.  Wednesday I went to a clinic on coaching girls in sports.  It was awesome and a lot of fun too!  

Our team had their first game this week - it was against Lakeridge, so it was always going to be a hard game, but the girls did well - they have worked hard and it's paying off! 

Dan and I went to the temple on Saturday - then in the evening, Evelyn and I spent our time looking for Crouton who has gone missing.  She's seems to have somehow snuck out of the house and we can't find her.  :(  We have put up signs and looked everywhere, but haven't had any luck yet....  

Sunday was nice - church was great, but I've mostly just been worrying about crouton.  :(  

Back to School

Monday was the last official day of summer break.  We had water polo practices at 3:45-5:20 - then Evelyn split to go to the beach with friends for a last hurrah.  She had a great time with a great group of friends.  I also had a MHS coaches meeting, and I got the equipment from Mountainside Sports locker, then I spent a lot of time moving size 5 balls to Sunset and size 4 balls to Aloha.  But finally after a LONG day - I at least got to come home and spend the evening at home.  

This week and next, the 50M pool is closed during the day for work on the platforms, so I don't have any shifts, and also the Barracuda's afternoon practice is at Raleigh Hills outdoor pool - so I get to swim outside and I get to sleep in.  So I've done the afternoon swim every day this week and it's been wonderful!  One more week, then back to the usual. 

Tuesday was the first day of school for James and David, except I hadn't paid enough attention and thought David started Wednesday, so he was late his first day of school....  

This is David's first day picture - taken after school....

This was the first day picture he actually wanted....

Wednesday morning - Evelyn got up early and headed towards the Senior Sunrise.  She didn't stay long and ended up going back to the Wilde's house and hanging with Seth and Natalie until they went to school.  She is super happy with her Senior Jeans though - she did a lot of work on them and they look amazing! 

We are getting into the swing of things - trying to find our new rhythm for the year.  It's funny cuz James would rather ride the bus than get a ride with Evie....  LOL 

This Friday, James had his first meet for cross country.  He wasn't super excited with how he did - but I'm super pround of him and all the work he has put into this! 

Friday evening, was David's first start back to Water Polo - Paxton went with him and his friend Sawyer from school also came.  The beginner group is pretty big and they all came home super excited! 

I also had friends over to watch Pride and Prejudice.  We wanted to watch it before Meghan leaves on her mission in a couple weeks.  We will have to do it again so we can try to get the people who couldn't come last time, but it was a lot of fun - Evelyn and Natalie were first time watchers and we had a lot of fun introducing them to it!  

Friday was also Aaron's final step before getting licensed as a sky diver.  He can now go solo too.  He was super excited to come home wtih his stamp! 

Saturday, Dan and Aaron went out skydiving together and had fun trying all sorts of stuff out and having a great time together! 

Saturday, I went to Parkrose to play water polo - had a great time with a great group, then a bunch of us headed to Mike's house for a BBQ and fun and chat - most of us didn't make it down to the river this time, but it was still a lot of fun.  

In the evening, I went to Open Polo - but numbers were low because of the Redmond Jambouree - but we had enough for 3 on 3 - but my energy was pretty low!  

Church today was wonderful - it's was a 5th Sunday, and the 2nd hour was mostly in preparation for the upcoming change.  It was neat to learn about, even if it doesn't really affect my calling right now.  Then in the eveing, we played games and ate and had choir and a great time as a family and friends.  

Evie and Natalie spent some time trying to wax their legs.  So we got to hear them yelping from the upstairs bathroom.  LOL  

HS Water Polo - week 1!

Well, week one is in the books!  I told the girls that I was going to see how far into the season I could make it wearing a different water polo shirt to each practice.  I think it's going to take awhile before I run out..... 

We had a couple brand new players - they are doing amazing so far - they can both swim and do some egg beater and they are learning fast!  The girls are amazing and so far, I'm super excited about the team!  Chris is head coach for the Boys and he's got a solid roster and Blake has been helping him ease in a bit.  So far, so good!  

Sandi came over this week to look through some of the stuff from Pam's house and decide what she wanted to take.  She came Tuesday and we had fun chatting and looking at stuff together.  

On Wednesday, I took Eileen, and James and David and Evie to the Ape Caves up at Mt. Saint Helens.  We had a fun afternoon walking around and exploring the caves together.  Evelyn and I spent a bit of time enjoying the acoustics in the caves.  We also brought Paxton with us, so the boys had fun together and watched Duck Tales most of the way there and back.  

This week our practices are in the evening, but for the rest of the season, they will be after school - ish....  They start 5 minutes after school gets out, so there will generally be girls trickling in late, but it's also been kind of nice having my evenings with the family.  :)  Also, there will still be Thursday night water polo at Sunset because of the practice times! 

Evelyn has been spending a lot of the week working on her Senior Jeans - it's so cute, she wants to do all the Senior things.  :)   

Friday, I took David and Paxton and Evelyn to the pool.  They spent almost all their time there on the diving boards.  David went on the platforms and Evelyn did too - plus she had fun working on her dives!  

This weekend was just the normal.  Dan and Aaron have been enjoying the weather and doing as much skydiving as they can - Aaron is getting close to having enough jumps to be licensed.  

California and a Tournament

Monday morning, Eileen and I got up, had some breakfast and then headed out.  We stopped for lunch on the way and made it into Hayward to meet my parents at Pam's house.  We spent the afternoon working there, then got sushi/tereyaki chicken for dinner before heading back to the hotel for bed.  Tuesday I got up and headed over early while Eileen slept.  Then around lunch time, my mom went and got lunch and picked her up and brought her back.  Part of our goal this week was just to try to look at as much stuff as possible to let my parents know what I might be interested in keeping, then taking home the stuff I could.  

Tuesday evening, I found a play to go play
water polo - I drove down to Los Gatos HS and ended up shooting and messing around in the pool since there were only 5 people there.  At least Oregon isn't the only place that sometimes struggles to get numbers.... :)  It was enough for me, I got in the pool and got to spend some time in the cage and the people were really nice. 

Wednesday went pretty similar to Tuesday.  I spent a lot of time this week in the garage.  I don't know that I really got much done except having a better idea of what is in there....  We had a good long talk with the real estate agent and he brought info from the lawyer.  I also spent a lot of time getting the van packed up and ready to go.  

Thursday morning, I had breakfast with my parents, then we headed out.  I wanted to get back in time for Water Polo and bed.  

Friday was the first day of the LO open water tournament.  I played in my first game and got to watch the guys first game.  The ladies I played with were a ton of fun!  We won our first game!  I had another game on Saturday and then 2 on Sunday.  I also got to play with the guys on Sunday since there's was an exhibition game. 

James has been getting ready for High School - and has started practicing with cross country team.  As a result - he's constantly hungry.....  

After our last game, a bunch of us ladies went to a Thai place for dinner and we had a great time.  All in all, it was a wonderful weekend!  

Aaron finished up his CDL training and now all he has left is to take the test and then get his license.  He's super excited and has worked really hard!   

Camping Trip

This week was our annual camping trip with our friends.  Me, David, Evelyn and Natalie went up on Tuesday - we stopped at Tillamook for ice cream and samples, then headed for our campsite.  It was crazy windy when we got there and we had a hard time getting the tents set up.  

We got set up and had a bit of time for exploring.  The beach was an easy walk away and other than the wind, the weather was great! 

More of our friends arrived on Wednesday and we had a fun time helping them get set up and chatting and playing with friends.  We went on an adventure - walking out on the jetty - the fog horn was really loud out there!  But we had fun and the view was awesome! 

We also went into Rockaway which was a 7 minute drive from the campsite.   We wandered around and got some souvenirs and some ice cream and candy.  :)  

We also spent a lot of time on the beach.  We brought a volleyball and played some beach volleyball without a net, but had fun.  There was lots of time in the water and lots of time playing in the sand.  Also our campsites were sandy - so we came home on Saturday covered in Sand.  

I got home early enough on Saturday to go play water polo and do laundry and pack, then go to Open Polo.  Sunday, we went to church, then after church, I finished packing and got the van loaded up and ready, then after an early dinner, Eileen and I headed down to CA to meet my parents at Aunt Pam's house.  We made it about half way, then stopped for the night in a hotel.  

Aniversary And Trek

Evelyn went on Trek this week.  James didn't want to go and Aaron couldn't, so it was just Evie.  We were scrambling for a pioneer dress for her and barely managed to get one from Amazon that she was willing to wear here on time. 

David has been having fun and spending a lot of time with Paxton.  And we try to keep them busy and happy and not totally on the computers and video games.  

Dan and I knew the weekend would be busy, so we went out for our anniversary on Friday.  We went to dinner - then we tried to go to a place in Hillsboro, but it was closed, so we went home and watched a movie together.  

Sunday, Evelyn had her senior pictures taken.  We went out to a fun little Sunflower garden and had fun.  

This fun girl cracks me up - especially when she's trying to pet fuzzy bumble bees.  

But also about made me cry when I realized she had brought along the baby blanket I made her to use as a prop.  

These are just some fun ones of me with my phone, I can't wait to see the final pictures!  Emma really did a great job! 

California Trip

Monday, I drove down to CA with Sandi,  the car ride with her was fun.  It was a little less than 10 hours of driving and we spent a lot of it singing out loud together and talking.  It went quickly and we arrived at our hotel and got settled in before mom and dad got back from the house.  

Tuesday morning, Sandi and I went to get a quick workout in before heading over to the house, but that seemed to stress my parents out, so we mostly skipped that the rest of the week - and I at least paid for it.  By the end of the week, my shoulders were killing me and I was exhausted.  The work at the house was hard - physically, emotionally and mentally.  My dad spent the whole week just working on the kitchen.  And didn't even finish it.  Granted, he admitted at one point that he was intentionally doing it in a non-efficent way so that he could get more steps....  But considering how exhausted he looked by the end of the days, he didn't need more steps....  It was hardest on him - he pushed himself past his physical limits and he was mentally stressed by trying to work through what he was allowed to do before he was made executor of her estate, emotionally stressed about the death of his sister and trying to put together a good eulogy for her memorial.  

My mom mostly spent her week working to bag up clothes in the bedroom and get access to the stuff in the bedroom, then working in the office to sort through paper work and try to find important stuff.  

Sandi and I bulldozed our way through the rest of the house - emptying (the top photo is most of the stuff from one room emptied out onto the back lawn and sorted some) the room enough to clean it out, then moving stuff back into the house in a somewhat organized manner.  

This was the living room after doing hours of work to get down to the plastic drop cloth over half the room and removing the drop cloth.  We emptied, cleaned and re-arranged so that the room was somewhat useable and navigable.  

There was one living cat left at the house - and she stayed entirely in the kitchen - mostly hiding.  I came in to feed her and she was very sweet - happy to be petted and fed and given attention.  I had decided before I went down to CA that I wouldn't let Pam's cats go to a shelter, and if none of the neighbors wanted them, I would bring them home, so Saturday when Sandi and I drove home, we took the cat with us.  The family decided to name her Crouton and she is just the sweetest kitty!  So far she is eating well.  We took her to the vet in CA to get her flea medication and get her all checked out.  The vet said she is around 12 years old and other than being underweight, she is in good health.  

The memorial was Saturday and was very nice.  But Sandi and I didn't get on the road until 3pm - so we didn't get home until closer to 1:30 or so.  The drive was quiet and Crouton did well in the carrier.  

Sunday, I was playing the organ and it went well - thankfully Eileen had chosen easy songs.

Tired and Fun

Monday, I was totally gassed.  I was so tired after Sunday!  I got up and swam and then went to work, then I got home and crashed for a few hours.  Finally got the shopping and such done, but I was dragging all day.  We managed to get all the prep done for David's birthday party, but I slept in the next morning!  

Tuesday, we went out to George Roger's Park to swim and play on the water.  David had some friends all come with us to play and snack and enjoy a beautiful day!  We stayed all afternoon, then headed home to grab stuff and change before heading to Water Polo.  

Wednesday was swimming and work and getting some recovery in!  In the evening, I coached water polo, then went to help out with the high school kids practice.  Dan has been super busy with work - he's working multiple jobs right now and I think he's getting burnt out pretty quickly.  He's also feeling useful and productive too, so we'll see how it all balances out.  

Thursday I had a work shift teaching an intro to Water Polo class at THPRD.  We had a fun time with the kids and at the end I also got to participate in an audit.  I got to pretend to get injured to see how the lifeguards respond to an emergency situation.  I got the kids in on it before so that they wouldn't freak out, and they thought it was great fun!  Then I swam and headed home.  David had water polo in the evening and then I went to Masters.  We had a great turnout and I had a ton of fun!!  

Friday morning I swam and really tired my back out, but it was a great work out!  Then work coaching grown up swim - we did a fun sprint set, and Evelyn came!  

Aaron is doing great with his CDL training.  He worked a lot on backing up this week and then had a test (that he passed of course) on Friday.  He is really enjoying this and already looking into potential jobs for when he's done!  

Saturday, I went with Aaron to Parkrose for water polo - it was a great group and we had a lot of fun! Dan went skydiving and had a great time, getting back just in time for the picnic. Then in the afternoon, we had the end-of-season picnic for THills water polo club, so we went and ate and played and had fun!  Then in the evening, Eileen and Dan and I went and met up with Ben and James to go see Supergirl.  It was good and we had fun!  

Today was wonderful!  We had a musical testimony meeting for church and it was wonderful - I think we could have easily done a full 2-hours of that, but we had to let the next ward in.  :)  Primary was quiet - we only had 3 kids, but we had fun singing and playing games.  Our afternoon was quiet with games and food and naps and such.  Eileen has been teaching Aaron how to draw cats and he's getting pretty good!  

Jones Family Reunion and Busy Weekend

Monday morning (after swimming and such) I spent a bunch of time packing and getting things ready to leave for Idaho.  Then after Dan finished meetings and Evelyn finished work, we drove off towards Idaho.  We stopped at some food trucks near a subway for dinner, then we finished the late drive into Burley area.  We got to our Airbnb and the code we had been given didn't work.  We couldn't get ahold of the people since it was 1:30 in the morning, so we got hotel rooms for the night and the next morning we got up for some breakfast before going back to bed for a bit.  We did a delayed check out and Dan and I went to the temple for some sealings with family.  Then we changed, packed up and headed to meet up with Jones family members at a nearby park so we could hang out and play until we could check in to the place we were staying for the reunion.  

We got to Albion, ID and found our rooms and got settled in, then had dinner and played some games and then had a surprise birthday party for Grandma Jones!  We had a blast sharing memories and partying together in celebration of her 80th birthday! 

The place we are staying also had a lot of animals including horses, peacocks, camels, cows and pigs (and baby piglets!)  The piglets were tiny and so cute and there were so many of them!!!  

The next morning was hot!  The place we are staying does a HUGE haunted house thing at Halloween and they are setting up for it year round, so they gave us a tour of them.  It was still pretty spooky even though it was daylight outside and we were only getting part of the experience.  The kids had a great time - Evie and James had fun trying to jump scare each other.  David screamed and cried and then said he LOVED it.  LOL

After a lunch of our Taquitoes and Burritoes (which were a hit) we went to swim in the pool - but it had started cooling off by then and the wind had picked up.  So after an hour or so, we gave up.  Then we played Jones Ball until dinner.  

We played some some minute to win it games, the played some volley ball and roasted marshmallows and as always with the Jones family, the nights ended in board games - including lots of Skull King.  

Thursday morning was breakfast and packing up and heading home.  We stopped at a park to eat our sack lunches, then got some snacks and finished the drive - getting in around 8 pm.  

Friday was back to the usual - Swimming, work, zumba, playing with friends and such.  Dan brought Evie and Aaron to grown up swimming which was a lot of fun!  In the afternoon, I took the boys to the dirt hills to ride their bikes for a bit before we came home for dinner.  Nicole and Peyton joined us too - we're trying to get rid of leftovers!  

Saturday, David had a tournament.  It was down at Newberg and the kids had a ton of fun!  The first game was a bit rough, but they won the last 2 games.  Both David and Paxton scored multiple times and between our last 2 games when we had a bigger break, we went to chick-fil-a for lunch and then to 7-11 for free slurpees!  It was a fun weekend and the kids all learned and grew a lot! 

After, Laura came over so we could talk a bit about the race and make sure we had everything we needed and so I could foist a few more of our leftovers off on her for dinner.  

Then I took Aaron and Evelyn and went to open polo.  It was a fun group - we played some decent water polo and had fun!  I was tired by the end, but it was great! 

Then Sunday morning - really early - I met up with Laura and we drove out to the river for her race!  She was doing the Portland Bridge Swim and I was her kayaker.  She busted her butt swimming 11 miles down the river in rather choppy water with way too much wind (though a gorgeous sunny day) while I paddled happily along beside her making sure she was safe and that she had everythings he needed - food, water, electrolytes, encouragment.  :)  She did amazing - finishing in less than 5 1/2 hours on her first ever race like this.  After the race, her boyfriend met us with flowers and food and a ride back to my car.  My only regret was that I actually wore my lifevest - too much chaffing!!  When I got out at the end - despire having felt like i was never working very hard, my arms and abs were tired and I was shaky getting out!  I went home for a bit of a nap before dinner and an evening of games with the family! 

The 4th and Pam

It has been a kinda crazy week.  Getting back into routines and such after vacation, while still prepping for the next one next week.  I got back to swimming - and finding a summer routine.  Dan and Aaron have been coming to my grown up swimming in the morning - it's been a good test at setting work outs that everyone can do and that can be adjusted for all levels.  

Evelyn has been loving her job at Terra Nova and is bringing home fresh produce all the time.  David has spent much of the week hanging out with friends - he had a sleepover with Landon one night and Paxton another night - then Paxton slept over here one night.  

Tuesday we got a call from my parents that my Aunt Pam was in the hospital.  She had been out walking and gotten into an argument with a neighbor that she has had issues with in the past.  The lady pushed her and since Pam was a nearly 80 year old woman, she fell and went unconscious.  She was taken to the hospital where they found a triple hematoma and she was in a coma.  The brain surgeon came the next day to see if it was possible to remove some of the brain in order to lesssen the pressure on the brain - unfortunatly, it was not possible and she was declared brain dead on Thurday.  My dad, knowing that Pam would never want to just be kept alive on life support, made the decision to take her off life support and she passed away less than half an hour later.  

We've been up in the air about what is happening and what will be happening.  I will go down for the funeral and also to help my parents with her house, but we don't know what the timeline for that will look like.  As hard as it is to lose her and in such an unexpected manner, I can't help but think that she would prefer this - quick and painless and without losing her independance and mobility - than a long drawn out illness or becoming debilitated and having to struggle with that.  

This weekend was the 4th of July - the observed holiday was Friday, so we had a fun evening together watching Sheep Detectives and I took Evelyn to get another piercing on her ears.  We had a fun afternoon together.  :)  

Saturday was the 4th of July.  David and Paxton hung out all day - we dyed Paxton's hair purple so he and David could be twins.  Then we got to talk to Anna for a bit - though the 4th of July in Canada isn't quite the same as the 4th of July in the US.  

In the evening we went to the Olsen's for dinner and fireworks.  We had lots of fun with friends and had lots of yummy food and then TONS of fireworks.  It was a fun and crazy night - we didn't get home until after 10pm - but it was a great weekend!  

Final days at the Cabin and then Home

Monday morning, we finished our campaign, then everyone else headed back down to Denver.  Julia was in the middle of trying to put an offer on a house from a distance and Sandi and the kids wanted to have a day with Grandpa before they needed to head back to OR.  

Burning the paper garbage is always one of the fun parts of packing up to go! 

It's been a wonderful trip!  We did a bunch more hiking up behind the cabin and searching for rocks and one last trip to Fairplay for Ice Cream. 

We spent the evening trying to get as much packed up as we could, then Wednesday morning, we began our trip home.  We stopped at Little America again for ice cream and playing and gas and souvenirs, then back on the road to Grandma and Grandpa's house.  We stopped for dinner at Chili's since there are none in Oregon, it was kind of our last chance to get Chili's for awhile.  

We got in late and they were already it bed - so we got settled in and went to bed.  The next morning, Grandma and Grandpa did a little birthday breakfast for David with donuts and candles and a present.   

Then we got on our way back home!  Aaron was a huge help with the driving, and we made it in safely at a pretty early hour since we gain an house coming this way.  We got home and unpacked and I still had time to get to Water Polo - which I really needed after 2 days in the car, but my shoulders weren't happy after 2 days in the car!  

Friday was starting to get into summer routines.  I went to swim and then to coach Grown Up swimming.  The numbers have been low on M/W/F but it was fun - especially since the staff at Somerset right now is mostly people I usually work with at the 50M pool.  I took Eileen and David to go to the grocery store for food for the weekend and David's birthday dinner and to let David pick out some hair dye.  Then all 3 of us went to get our hair trimmed.  Then we came back home and did a little birthday scavenger hunt for David's presents.  

After, we dyed his hair.  

He wanted Sushi for his birthday dinner and a 6-pack cake for his cake....  

After, I went to go coach the bronze practice for water polo - it's at the outdoor pool for the summer which is fun - but the weather was a bit cool after being drizzly all day, so the kids were a bit cold!  

Saturday was a crazy day.  Aaron and I went to Parkrose in the morning to play water polo.  We had a great group and a lot of fun playing.  After, I went home and made cookies for Dan and I to take to Dominico's party.  Then we headed over for an evening of good food and good company.   I had a great time, and Dan was a great sport about hanging out with a bunch of people who were mostly my friends.  

Since it was Anna's birthday, we also got to talk to her on the phone again!  We talked on the whole drive to the party and then I took her around so everyone could say hi to her before she had to go!  It was a bit strange - since her birthday is in the Summer, this is the first time that we haven't gotten to spend her birthday with her.  Her mission is offically split and she is now in the Canada, Halifax mission! 

After, Evelyn and I were going to go to Open Polo - but it turns out it's the Balloon Festival this weekend, so no Open Polo :(  But we had a nice drive and talk on the drive.  :) 

Sunday, David and I got up early to head up to Tacoma for a tournament.  He was sore after an evening of running around playing soccer, so he was hurting when he got in the pool to play.  Plus we were missing a lot of our strongest players and we had no subs.  So it was a rough set of games, but he scored once and they all did such a good job and learned so much! 

Purple Hair and purple lips - that water was COLD! 

Then we got on our way back home!   We drove back and got in pretty late, so we got David to bed and then got me to bed!